


The Purple Conundrum

by Blizzard_Fire



Series: ThorBruce Week 2019 [6]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bruce Banner Has Issues, Bruce Banner Needs a Hug, Bruce is a human glowstick, Cute, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Avengers (2012), ThorBruce Week, ThorBruce Week 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2021-01-25 13:13:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21356791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blizzard_Fire/pseuds/Blizzard_Fire
Summary: After a Hulk-out, Bruce's skin glows in the dark. Thor wonders what the colours mean.'So what do the colours mean?' asks Clint.Bruce laughs softly. 'They don't mean anything.' His orange shifts to pink as he glances at Thor. 'Blood chemicals, maybe. I've never had the chance to properly study it.'Under the table, Thor places a comforting hand on Bruce's knee without looking at him. Out of the corner of his eye, Bruce turns bright yellow, then back to pink, and settles on purple.Now that's a colour Thor hasn't seen before.
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Thor
Series: ThorBruce Week 2019 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1524101
Comments: 7
Kudos: 170
Collections: Thorbruce Week 2019





	The Purple Conundrum

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt "Rainbow/Glow" for ThorBruce Week 2019.
> 
> Oof, this was a bit last minute! (It's 10pm in the UK.) Tried to be creative with these prompts, I'm pretty proud of this one. It's set just after Avengers 1.

Once Loki has been safely deposited at Asgard, Thor returns to Stark Tower.

The building is badly damaged, but Stark’s robots are hard at work patching holes and shifting debris. JARVIS directs him to the fifteenth floor, where he finds the man himself in the (mostly intact) kitchen, munching on a bag of chips. ‘Knew you’d miss us,’ he says, apparently not at all surprised to see Thor.

‘I wanted to check on you all. You Midgardians are not so used to battle as we.’

He shrugs. ‘We’re good. I mean, the almost-dying-in-deep-space part wasn’t great but at least ol’ Jolly Green was on hand. Speaking of which, wanna see him?’ There’s a strange glint in his eye as he beckons for Thor to follow him.

The upper floors were the most severely damaged, but it looks as if some temporary living quarters have been set up. Tony knocks on a door halfway down the corridor. A croaky voice bids them to enter.

Bruce is lying in bed in semi-darkness, but he sits up when Thor walks in. 'Oh hey, you're back.'

Thor nods. 'How do you fare, friend?'

'I've been better. Just tired.' As Bruce rubs a hand across his face, Thor notices something strange.

'Banner, you're... glowing.' He can see it even through the blankets. Bruce's skin is glowing a soft turquoise.

Tony leans against the doorframe. ‘Isn’t it cool?’

Thor wanders over, fascinated. ‘Does it hurt you?’

‘No. It’s just simple phosphorescence.’ Bruce draws the blankets more tightly around him. He looks very tired. ‘I forget I have it, actually. It only happens after Hulk-outs. And it's been a while.' Even his voice is weak and raspy. ‘But it’s been two days. I thought it would have faded by now.’

‘Well, you did transform twice in one day,’ Tony points out. ‘Scientist, Hulk _and_ a night light? Knew you were useful to have around, Brucie. Don’t even think about going anywhere.'

Bruce's glow shifts from blue to orange, then back to a paler blue. He smiles. ‘Not sure I even could right now, but thanks.’

Thor pats a blanketed leg. ‘I will return later to check on you,’ he promises, and with interest he sees another pulse of orange. But Bruce looks too weary for further questioning, so he leaves it for another time.

The Chitauri attack is all over the news, even days later. Bruce is a blanket-wrapped lump on the couch, glued to the endless press coverage. Today, he glows a deep, unwavering blue. Most days he is blue.

Thor sits down beside him. Bruce doesn’t acknowledge him. Under the blanket, his hands twist together.

_‘But the real question is, who are "the Avengers"? And are they partially responsible for the destruction and loss of life that occurred here this week?’_

Tony wanders past and changes the channel. Bruce waits until he’s gone and changes it back again.

_‘Of all six Avengers, the Hulk is arguably the most dangerous. In fact, he's had some run-ins with the local military in the past. I have with me on the line General Thaddeus Ross, who has some experience in dealing with Hulk. General, what are your thoughts?'_

_'Well, Hulk is dangerous, that can’t be denied. Maybe he's changed, who knows? But I'm concerned that the government seems to have no jurisdiction over the beast...'_

The light emanating from Bruce turns slowly from blue to green. Thor knows what green means.

'That's enough.' He grabs the remote and turns the TV off. 'What sense is there in torturing yourself? We saved the world!'

Bruce stares at the floor, green shifting back to blue. 'But if I hadn’t been there, maybe fewer people would have died.'

'If you hadn’t been there, _more_ would have died. The Chitauri would have won. And Stark wouldn’t be here.' Thor stares at him until Bruce reluctantly meets his eyes. 'No more news. What can we watch instead?'

Bruce blinks rapidly and looks away. ‘I don’t know.’

‘Wrong answer.’ Tony drifts in, eating something else out of a bag. ‘You've been in hiding for what, four years? That's a lot of crap TV to catch up on.' He sits down on Bruce’s other side and finds a colourful cartoon to watch.

Thor watches Bruce out of the corner of his eye. The blue glow remains, but it fades a little. When Bruce glances up at Thor between episodes and manages a tired smile, there's the faintest flicker of yellow.

Now Thor is really curious what the colours mean.

Over the next few days, Thor keeps an eye on Bruce. The more he watches him, the more certain he is that each colour represents a mood. If Tony makes him laugh, he glows yellow. Most of the time he's blue or orange.

Today however, he's glowing rosy pink. Probably because Thor just walked in on him having a shower.

'I apologise,' he calls through the door, 'I didn't realise you were here.' Actually, he'd heard Bruce singing and had walked in for a chat. But Midgardians have different ideas about nudity, apparently. Oops.

Bruce's glow is so bright he can see it under the door. 'It's fine. Can't really afford to be body-shy when you frequently wake up in rags.'

'Nor should you be.' Thor thinks on the brief glimpse he caught of Bruce in the steam-fogged shower. 'You have the frame of an Asgardian bowman: wiry but supple.'

Bruce's light smears strange reflections over the hardwood floor. The glow flickers between orange and yellow, finally pausing on deep, plum purple. 'Um, thanks. Don't tell Clint you said that. Maybe - maybe don't tell anyone that. But thanks.'

Thor grins. Now this is a colour he hasn't seen before. 

Bruce wants to help with the cleanup, but he's still too weak to do much. Thor keeps him company whilst the others do damage control. He has a newfound respect for the scientist: clearly transforming is extremely draining, but Bruce came back to help and changed willingly.

Today, Bruce flickers like the Rainbow Bridge. He laughs at Tony's jokes but glows bright red. He tells Steve he's feeling better but glows deep blue. Clearly he's feeling unsettled today.

'So what do the colours mean?' asks Clint, stuffing fries into his mouth. Shawarma round two is takeout eaten on the remaining undamaged couches.

Bruce laughs softly. 'They don't mean anything.' His orange shifts to pink as he glances at Thor. 'Blood chemicals, maybe. I've never had the chance to properly study it.'

Tony says, 'We should test it. Hook you up to JARVIS, take some samples. Could be useful.'

Bruce glows red as he drops his fork. 'I'd rather not, thanks,' he says quietly, shifting to pink again.

Under the table, Thor places a comforting hand on Bruce's knee without looking at him. Out of the corner of his eye, Bruce turns bright yellow, then back to pink, and settles on purple.

'That's so cool man,' Clint sighs. 'And you have no control over the colours?'

'None,' Bruce confirms, continuing to eat. But he flickers between yellow and purple as Thor rubs soothing circles with his thumb.

Thor is called back to Asgard for a few days, but as soon as Loki is properly locked away he returns to Midgard. He's starting to get attached to his fellow Avengers... especially one of them.

Thor elbows the door open, carrying two steaming mugs. 'How goes the work?'

The lab is dark, save for the glare of the holoscreens. It's not _the_ lab - that's still under repair - but Tony has cobbled something temporary from what was left.

Bruce looks up and smiles. He looks healthier. 'It's going okay.' His skin briefly pulses yellow before returning to a soft orange. 'Tony's hired me as a lab partner so I thought I'd get familiarised.'

'As he should.' Thor wanders over and gives him the mug of green tea. 'I hear you are one of Midgard's brightest scientists.'

He chuckles, flashing yellow again. 'Mostly I think he just wants someone to listen to his crazy schemes. But I don't mind.' His fingers curl around the mug, one corner of his mouth quirked up in amused surprise. And then his light is purple again. 'Thanks Thor,' he says softly.

Thor reaches out, his hand hovering at Bruce's cheek. He admires the light that illuminates his palm. 'It's very bright.'

'Mmm.' Bruce takes a hesitant sip, eyes searching Thor's face. 'Have you worked out what it means?'

'I know that it is the rarest one.' Oh so slowly, Thor brings his hand in to lightly brush Bruce's stubbled cheek. Bruce doesn't pull away.

'I've never glowed this colour before,' Bruce whispers, light shining off his glasses. 'I didn't know purple meant anything.'

Thor holds his face in both hands. 'It suits you,' he murmurs.

Bruce laughs and flickers pink and yellow.

Thor kisses him. It's gentle and hesitant, a stolen moment in a darkened room. Bruce tastes of green tea.

Through half-closed eyes, Thor watches Bruce's glow flash through endless colours. Rainbows of emotion flicker over his skin in waves, and only when he finally pulls away does it settle on a delicate lilac.

'I like seeing how you feel.' He presses a second kiss to Bruce's cheek. 'You keep too much hidden, Bruce.'

'Except from you, it seems.' He looks his usual calm self, but he's glowing so bright it almost hurts Thor's eyes. 'Wanna know how I feel right now?'

Thor squints to see him, he's so bright. 'Do you feel as if you want to do that again?'

Bruce glows yellow. Laughing, Thor curls an arm around his waist and pulls him in for another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> This was a bit of a challenge for me, as I usually take a week or so to write one fic. The last couple of days have been a little rough, but I'm hoping to do tomorrow's prompt, and maybe the one after but if they're late they're late. I've had so much fun coming up with these.


End file.
